George PalaganasFrom Willie Robles sent 10/12/2013: "Happy Birthday to you and may you have more birthdays to come.... •♫♪Happy Birthday to you♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸ •*¨*•♫♪ Happy Birthday to you♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸ ¨*•♫♪ Happy Birthday ,Happy Birthday¸¸.*•♫♪ •*¨*•.¸¸Happy Birthday to you!♪♫•*¨*•.¸*•♫ " Willie Robles profile is at https://www.facebook.com/willierobles1108

George PalaganasWillie Roblesposted to George Palaganas' Time Line about an hour ago near Jersey City, NJ, United States"Happy Birthday to you and may you have more birthdays to come....•♫♪Happy Birthday to you♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸•*¨*•♫♪ Happy Birthday to you♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸¨*•♫♪ Happy Birthday ,Happy Birthday¸¸.*•♫♪•*¨*•.¸¸Happy Birthday to you!♪♫•*¨*•.¸*•♫ "

‪#‎WASHINGTON‬, -- Beijing has said it will ignore proceedings at the United Nations' tribunal, preferring to settle matters bilaterally. The WSJ's Andrew Browne and Enda Curran discuss possible outcomes for the Philippines and China in the South China Sea dispute.

Paul Reichler, a Washington-based lawyer, has spent much of his career representing small countries against big ones: Nicaragua versus the U.S.; Georgia versus Russia; Mauritius versus the U.K., Bangladesh versus India.

His first big victory made headlines in the 1980s when the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that U.S. support for Contra rebels trying to overthrow the left-wing Sandinista government of Nicaragua violated international law.

That is one reason to pay attention to the case he launched this year at a United Nations arbitration body: the Philippines versus China.

Mr. Reichler is the lead lawyer representing Manila in its legal challenge against China's claim to almost all of the South China Sea, signified by the "nine-dash line"—a U-shaped protrusion on Chinese maps that brushes the coastlines of smaller states, including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The Philippines brought the case in January under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which governs the world's oceans. China is a signatory. The heart of the case is that the line has no basis under the U.N. convention, which states that coastal states are entitled to a territorial sea extending 12 nautical miles as well as a 200-mile economic exclusion zone in which they have rights to fish and extract undersea resources.

"Of course we're aware of the enormity of taking on a country like China," says Mr. Reichler, a litigator with the U.S. law firm Foley Hoag.

The Arbitral Tribunal has appointed a five-person panel of judges and issued a timetable for handling the case, including a deadline for the Philippines to submit its evidence by March 30 next year.

It's the first time that Beijing has been taken to a U.N. tribunal and China is furious. It showed its displeasure by making clear that Philippine President Benigno Aquino III wouldn't be welcome at a trade event in southern China in August. Beijing has said it will ignore the legal proceedings, without giving any reasons. The Chinese Foreign Ministry didn't respond to requests for comment on the arbitration action.

China insists that territorial disputes over islands in the South China Sea should be settled through bilateral negotiation. The sea contains potentially vast reserves of oil and natural gas. In addition, Beijing maintains that the nine-dash line presents no obstacle to freedom of navigation in a stretch of water that carries a third of global trade—a major U.S. concern.

Beijing's refusal to participate hasn't stopped the case going ahead. It could even speed its resolution: Mr. Reichler says that if China doesn't take part, the case could wrap up by the end of 2014. Such cases can otherwise drag on for up to five years.

To some skeptics, Manila's challenge is quixotic. Even if the tribunal decides it has jurisdiction over the case, and then finds in Manila's favor, Beijing could simply ignore the verdict.

Yet there are more than legal considerations at stake. The case is also significant for what it will signify about the way that China views the world.

Lawyer Paul Reichler, who specializes in international public law, is taking China to court on behalf of the Philippines over a dispute in the South China Sea. Melissa Golden for The Wall Street Journal

China's self-image is wrapped up in its own sense of victimhood at the hands of imperialist powers led by Britain starting in the mid-19th century. That, in turn, has driven a Chinese foreign policy that professes to treat all countries equally, large or small, rich or poor.

But now that China is a global player, and dominates its own backyard, neighbors are asking anxious questions. Will it seek to work within existing international laws, or try to bend them to suit its purposes? As it acquires a blue-water navy to project power far from its own shores, will it be more tempted to use force to settle territorial disputes? And how will it treat smaller countries, like the Philippines, that feel bullied by China's growing military might?

Mr. Reichler is counting on international opinion to sway China's response toward any judgment that doesn't go China's way. "It's a terrible blow to a state's prestige to defy a tribunal's decision," he says.

From the Philippines' point of view, legal action was the last option after diplomacy failed. China wouldn't budge from its claim to "indisputable sovereignty" over the whole sea, say officials in Manila, and it was steadily encroaching on Philippine territory. Last year, Chinese ships fenced off the Scarborough Shoal, a fishermen's haven just west of Manila. China says the Philippines navy was harassing Chinese fishermen.

China uses history to support its claims to the South China Sea and all its land features. These date back to its own imperial days centuries ago, when China treated its neighbors as mere vassals. However, the nine-dash line itself was first published on a map in 1947 by the Chinese Kuomintang government, and the Communists inherited it after the civil war that brought the Communists, led by Chairman Mao, to power.

The line extends almost to Indonesia, some 900 miles from China's southernmost territory, Hainan Island. Such a far-reaching claim has no parallel anywhere in the world.

As for the islands, rocks and reefs that fall within the line, Mr. Reichler makes a technical argument in the Philippines' case. The convention rules that a habitable island is entitled to a 200-mile economic exclusion zone. A rock that juts out of the sea gets 12 miles. A semi-submerged reef gets nothing.

Mr. Reichler's argument is that all the sea features that the Philippines disputes with China are either rocks or reefs. And, therefore, even if China owns them, it has only limited rights to the surrounding resources.His legal team is pulling together a massive document to support that contention consisting of aerial photographs, naval charts, hydrology reports and geographical findings. "I'm not in a position to say how China will react," he says. "My job is to say [to the Philippines]: 'This is a good case for you to win or not.'"

(PHOTO) Lawyer Paul Reichler, who specializes in international public law, is taking China to court on behalf of the Philippines over a dispute in the South China Sea.

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Marlon wants to add George Palaganas's photo to the Costa Christian High School Yearbook

Please join schoolFeed and see which photos I added

Can you: approve this photo?

From George Palaganas: "Hi Marlon! Please refrain from joining the SRCS class with me because I need the "original" Marlonand so with Lito Sapin. Your photo fails to comply with the original look of my classmate that is why I am inciting you to jointhe Tarlac State University batch group of Marlon Perez, Cenandro Mamuad, and company. Lito Sapin is from CIT(Batch 85 I think) while ourbatchmate is Lito Sapon(a real fag that's why the CIT copy can not pass as him). I hope you understand."

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George Palaganas------------------Flag this messagePlease help us make up the differenceTuesday, October 18, 2011 4:42 AMFrom:This sender is DomainKeys verified"Nature Conservancy of Canada" <supporter.services@natureconservancy.ca>View contact detailsTo:drgeorgecaingletpalaganas@yahoo.comTeam NCC's 5k runners and walkers Above: Team NCC's 5k runners and walkers; photo by NCC.

We had a lot of fun, and we're really proud of each and every runner, but we've fallen short of our collective fundraising goal.

Please help! Your gift today will help us make up the difference to reach our goal, and will help us to deliver results across Canada, protecting critical habitat for the species we ran to protect. Species like the spotted turtle, which was recently added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Safeguarding its habitat is so urgent! This tiny turtle can still be found on NCC properties in the Great Lakes region in Canada, and with your help, we can do even more to protect this and other vulnerable wildlife across the country.

You can make a gift right now using our secure donation form, or call our Supporter Services team at 1-800-465-8005 FREE, and they'll be happy to help.

A Christmas Carolby Cool Dela Peña a.k.a. George C. PalaganasA Christmas Carol on the trailRide on the sleigh and share your prizeEarwhilst for the child and scene till lightsBid her kiss and hand her ...

predator. Into the night I wondered, pondering; the cloak of darkness. Darkness, that surrounded my very soul. When from the silent abyss. A feeling; not a sound or vision, touched my trembling skin. Th